


First Impressions

by Musical_Fandom



Series: No Persona AU Oneshots [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Metaverse (Persona 5), Alternate Universe - No Personas (Persona Series), Cafe Leblanc (Persona 5), Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29610717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musical_Fandom/pseuds/Musical_Fandom
Summary: Akira finds the golden boy on TV pretty annoying until he walks into LeBlanc.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: No Persona AU Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2163441
Comments: 4
Kudos: 93





	First Impressions

Working at LeBlanc was fairly boring. Akira had realized this a while ago. It wasn't often that customers actually came in and when they _did_ show up, Sojiro handled them more often than not. Akira was mostly left on cleaning duty, sometimes he was asked to watch the shop but nothing much happened then either. 

"Most of our customers come in when you're at school." Sojiro had explained. That didn't make standing in an empty shop any less boring.

Sometimes, Akira watched TV in his plentiful downtime. Sojiro often kept it on the news but when some politicians came on he changed the channel mid word. Akira had noticed that he hated Masayoshi Shido the most. He could relate, the man seemed slimy and blatantly fake yet people still ate it up. There was also something startlingly familiar, something that he couldn't place but make his chest tighten whenever he saw him.

Watching TV during work was how Akira had first heard of the Detective Prince. Goro Akechi was about his age, he was a charming detective who worked for justice and also happened to be Masayoshi Shido's adopted son. He was just as fake as his father yet no one else seemed to be able to see through it. Akira found his Golden boy act grating. He wished Sojiro had the same disgusted reaction to Akechi so that he didn't have to listen to him go on and on about absolutely nothing.

There were days when no one came into LeBlanc. Sometimes Sojiro would leave Akira to tend to the shop for longer periods of time during those days. He'd be out for hours while Akira stood awkwardly behind the counter trying to ignore how lonely the shop could be by watching TV or texting his friends. It was one of those days when Akira heard a very familiar voice.

"Good afternoon." Akira turned to find himself face to face with Goro Akechi. His voice was sweet but stiff, as if he'd been practicing the perfect way to say such a small greeting. He probably had. His smile didn't reach his startlingly red eyes which looked beyond tired. Oh.

"Good afternoon." Akira returned the small greeting. "What can I get for you?"

Akechi took a seat at the counter. He placed a briefcase next to him and looked at the menu. "I'll just take a black coffee." His fake smile widened. "I was recommended this place by my coworker, I hope it's as good as she says!"

Akira got to work on the coffee. It wasn't often he got to serve customers but that didn't mean he was bad at brewing coffee. Nights of practicing with Sojiro had allowed him to hone his skill to an acceptable level.

Akira placed the cup in front of Akechi just as he heard another familiar voice. This time it came from the TV as Masayoshi Shido made bold declarations of incompetence in the government. Akira couldn't stop his body from tensing, nor could he stop himself from noticing the curious look Akechi gave him. He quickly changed the channel before he looked back at Akechi.

"Not a fan?" Asked the politician's son. If Sojiro were there he would have stopped Akira's next move. But Sojiro was not there and Akira couldn't stop the words from spilling out.

"I can't stand him." He shook his head. "Everything about him is awful and fake."

Akechi chuckled his fake little TV laugh and smiled something a bit more genuine. "Not many people openly talk badly about my father in front of me." There was something in his gaze. Something beyond the tiredness and fake pleasantries. Interest, curiosity, Akira felt like he was walking into dangerous territory.

"Well then you know a bunch of cowards." If Sojiro had been there, he would have thrown out in a second. Especially since Sojiro was one such coward. Well, not a coward, he just didn't like confrontation. He avoided it when possible unlike Akira who managed to act as a magnet for it.

"Quite bold of you to say." Akechi took his first sip of the coffee and nodded with approval. "It's actually refreshing to see someone who isn't afraid to speak their mind." He frowned, it was genuine and bitter unlike everything else he'd seen of Akechi. It only lasted for a second before he realized where he was. Almost instantly he plastered his fake smile back on his face. "I only wish I could be more like you."

The rest of Akechi's stay was spent in silence with the exception of a small thank you when he paid. Akira watched him leave. He was around his age, a minor celebrity. He was exhausted and even kept up the fake smiles out of the public eye. Akira couldn't help but wonder why. He thought about his father, about his fake sincerity on TV. Maybe it was something forced onto him. Something he had no control over. One step out of line and- Maybe he was just projecting.

After his first visit, Akechi became a regular. It started slowly, once every few weeks he would come. Then it progressed to once a week then multiple times a week until Akechi was in the cafe nearly every day. Surely he didn't need that much coffee. Although, the exhaustion in his eyes told a different story. Most times, he wouldn't say a word. It was only when Sojiro was out that he would strike up a small conversation. They tended to stay away from politics, instead Akechi seemed to favor lower stake discussions.

Slowly, Akira saw his plastic exterior melt away. He inched ever closer to the real Akechi and found that he actually liked him quite a bit. He was nothing like the golden boy Detective Prince. He had a temper, he was sarcastic, he was great.

"So," Akechi had asked one day. "How did you start working here?"

Akira shrugged. "I live here." He placed Akechi's coffee in front of him. "The owner's letting me live here while I stay in Tokyo for the year and I help him out in the shop after school to pay him back."

"So you're paying off a debt." 

"No, it's not like that. I chose to help out everyday."

Akechi looked down at his coffee. He suddenly seemed nervous. "So you can take a day off any time?"

Akira nodded, not quite sure what he was getting at.

"Then would you-" He paused for a moment before he composed himself. "Would you be free tomorrow night?"

"Yeah." Akira answered without even thinking about it. "Where did you want to go?"

"Have you ever been to Kichijoji?" Akira shook his head. "Well then let's meet at the station, I can show you a few places there."

"What time?"

"Six."

"I'll be there."

"Then it's a date." Akechi smiled. It was genuine and beautiful.

The rest of his stay, the two of them just talked. They talked until Akechi's phone went off and he had to excuse himself. Akira watched him as he left. He couldn't wait.

_ It wasn't until much later that Akira realized it actually **was** a date. _


End file.
